Raila made the decision hours
after meeting both Ruto and President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at the State House
in Uganda yesterday.
In a change of tune, Raila who
has always referred to the Head of State as 'Mr. Ruto', called him by his
official title 'President Ruto'.
The Azimio la Umoja leader
referred to Ruto as President more than once to clear doubts among his
supporters who would have argued that it was just a slip of the tongue.
Raila's acceptance of Ruto's
Presidency was also printed conspicuously in a statement he published after
meeting Museveni.
"Several days ago, I
accepted an invitation from President Kaguta Museveni of Uganda for a joint
meeting with President William Ruto today to discuss the
deepening of regional integration within the East African Community," his
statement read in part.
"Crucially, at the urging
of President Museveni, we also discussed my candidacy for Chairperson of the
African Union Commission. I am very grateful to President Museveni for strongly
endorsing my candidacy and to President Ruto for fully backing
it," he added.
Raila had vowed never to
recognize Ruto's presidency, claiming he is in office illegally.
He went ahead to demand for
Ruto’s resignation, arguing that he had neither the mandate of the people nor
the ability to govern.
But with the African Union
Commission Chairmanship on the line, Raila has decided to toe the line to win
Ruto's support to bag the AU role.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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